The Interview

The first time I saw a list of questions, it was almost annoying to me. Answering those things requires way too much thinking. However, this week it seems all I have done is answer questions about me, what I think, how I feel, my hangups, my dreams, etc. At this point, I figure I'm on a roll, so why stop now? Here goes: Another edition of The Interview.

If you had only one day to spend $20,000 (or else it would disappear!), what would you do with it? I think I would purchase 20 of those monster-sized oak trees from Holland Gardens and pay to have them planted on the farm. If there was anything left over, I would be tempted to plant a bumblebee and butterfly garden over there. Who says money can't buy happiness? An instant park could go a long ways toward making me smile.

What would you like to be written on your tombstone? I first wrote my epitaph last spring when I was taking a really neat class called 48 Days to the Work You Love. It's certainly been a lot longer than 48 Days, and I'm still not at the Work I Love, but I have a really cool epitaph. It says: Angie helped people to feel great about themselves and develop their talents and abilities. She gave others courage & confidence when they had none to give themselves. She gave them health and hope and the knowledge to change their own lives, and in doing so created a legacy of health, wealth, and love in her own family.

What advice would you give to yourself in 20 years? "Keep Your Mouth Shut and Opinions To YOURSELF!!! Doing otherwise has seldom landed you anywhere other than twelve inches deep in a nasty mess." Naaahhh....she needs to learn that one on her own. If I know her like I think I do, she isn't going to listen to me anyway.

How did you know that your husband was your soul mate? For starters, he represented everything I wasn't supposed to have, do, be, or experience, and as my parents will readily admit, that was an irresistable wide-open invitation to me. Actually, I didn't know for sure even as I walked down the aisle. I just knew that if I had to leave that place without him, I would die. I had left him behind for four and a half years, and I knew I could not do it even one more time. Of course, there was the Saturday afternoon not long after we were married when we went to Mom and Dad's to help replace a dishwasher. Here is this old pile of junk finally sitting out in the yard after years of doing it's daily duty. My dad immediately started trying to see if the pump could be salvaged. Then to my utter dismay, my husband began discussing possible uses for the top basket. I looked at my mom and said, "I got one just like my daddy!"

It has only been in the last year that I have begun to realize how we truly were meant for one another. Things he knew and understood 20 years ago are only now coming onto my radar. Kind of blows the mind, but it is really cool--the thoughts and ideas we are now able to share.

What’s your favorite “me time” activity? Why? That one entirely depends on the temperature and windspeed. Assuming an insanely gorgeous day, I want to be on the farm messing with the chickens, digging in the dirt, imagining my dream cabin, walking through the buffalo grass, and saying blessings over my little trees. Why? Because I love the freedom it represents to me. Cold and snowy lends itself to curling up for a nap in front of the wood burning stove. I love being snuggly warm on a cold and cloudy day.

Where has been your most favorite place to live, and why? I don't exactly have lots of experience living in different communities, but I have had the opportunity to live in some different houses within the community where I grew up. I guess my favorite is the fairytail farm. It was simply amazing. I was pretty little, living there from ages2-6 years. There were these two old houses. We lived in one and the landlord/lady lived in the the other one. The pasture went for what seemed like miles right out the front door. To the east were these huge cedar trees with asparagus growing like crazy under them. Then there was the pond. That was just the coolest thing on the planet, and I was heart-broken when the pond had to be allowed to dry up. We used to actually fish in that thing, I think. There were all kinds of fruit trees around the pond. Trees were everywhere. One of them is almost 100 years old and it would take three people to stretch arms around it. And the windmill.....it went up in the sky forever.

The landlady used to take me out to the horse barns where we had Peggy (the good horse, but a mare), Peanut (an obnoxious biting shetland pony), and a gelding named Booger. That last one should be self explanatory. The landlady was an amazing person. She has always held a bit of royal mystery to me. I truly wish now that I had found a way to spend time with her as I grew older. I always loved to see her. I'm thinking that's another blog post. Anyway, this place was like a princess castle grounds to the little girl I was.

I'll end this post with one last question.
What’s your favorite quote and why? You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To Change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. Buckminister Fuller I supposed this quote is my C4 for making things happen. So much of the time we try to modify the current standard to try and improve on it when it simply has nothing left to offer us. The only way to captivate the attention of the masses who resist even the smallest of change is to WOW them with some new amazing eye candy that can't be ignored. The other is left behind and forgotten and the new gains its foothold. Fighting the existing reality is quite exhausting and results in bloodshed. Creating something new is simply easier.

That's it for this edition of The Interview.